Spring has Sprung!

It's been a darn good week here in Benzie County.  The sun finally found its way back to our little corner of the world and warmed things up some.  Most of the golf courses are now open (I even got out to play once!) and most of the snow is gone.  I've also heard that the steelhead fishing is great- Betty from Vacation Trailer Park on the Betsie River tipped me off this when I saw her at the Benzie Chamber Expo on Tuesday, and I noticed a similar report when I discovered a link to Honor Motel's Blog on Twitter.  I also saw that the folks from Honor Motel did a nice job of pointing out the good values in Benzie County lakefront real estate.

Since the fishing is good, it's nice to have a couple of listings on the river, and I've noticed a spike in inquiries on both the Homestead Resort on the River which I have listed for sale, and on my listing for a secluded retreat on the Betsie River which just got a healthy price reduction.

Speaking of price reductions, I was really pleased to have secured price adjustments on five of my listings this week.  While it seems that real estate activity has ratcheted up another notch, most of the activity is still being driven by value/price.  More on those values in an UnReal Deals post soon.

Thanks to lots of hard work, I've stayed pretty busy all year, but it's at another level now, and I'm hearing that others are seeing the same trend.  One agent I spoke with put deals together for 8 customers in the past two weeks, and I have two properties that received multiple offers this week.  In other words, we had two buyers battling for one property.  It's all good news, and combined with a downward trend in the number of new listings being placed on the market, we're working toward a healthier inventory level.  Great mortgage rates and the $8000 first time buyer tax credit are helping out some too.  It's a shame that the tax credit is limited to folks who haven't owned a home in the past three years though.

Tomorrow I'm off to Cadillac to give a presentation for the Paul Bunyan Board of REALTORS about the use of Social Networking by REALTORS, then back to the office for a 3:30 closing before heading back south to Kentwood, hauling the props for my oldest son's Odyssey of the Mind Competition.

If anyone hears any reports on Steelhead, smelt, or morel mushrooms, please post a comment.  General information is find, no specifics necessary.  I don't expect anyone to give up their favorite spot!